Police call news conference on Palmetto State Bank robbery

Bluffton Police this afternoon called a Thursday news conference on the Jan. 19 armed robbery at Palmetto State Bank,194 Bluffton Road, in Old Town.

Until the news conference, they are holding back on releasing new information.

“The press conference will include a full case review as well as new suspect information,” Sgt. Joe Babkiewicz, lead investigator and spokesman, said in a news release.

The morning news conference at the Police Department in Buckwalter Place will include Chief David McAllister, Renita Barry from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Laboratory, and Babkiewicz. It is not open to the public.

Babkiewicz declined to provide details in advance, but said no arrest has been made.

No update was provided on the department’s Jan. 23 request for help finding a possible suspect, 24-year old David Everett Mack Jr of Wharf Street, for questioning. On Monday, Babkiewicz said police had “no luck in finding him at this point.”

Police responded to the robbery at about 7:32 a.m. Jan. 19.

A Jan. 23 news update from Babkiewicz said: “Initial investigation determined that two black males accosted the bank manager when he arrived at work and forced him at gunpoint to allow them entry into the bank. The manager was able to escape and alert authorities. The suspects were identified as two black males wearing dark clothing. The suspects ran from the bank toward Goethe Road.”

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